Define the material population
Describe fibre types, blends, finishes, non-textile components and contamination. Record how samples represent the incoming stream and how much sorting is assumed. A result on a clean single fibre does not describe the whole mixed collection.
Follow the material through the process
Compare sorting, preparation, mechanical or chemical recovery and downstream finishing. Identify losses and the quality of the recovered fraction. Track auxiliary inputs and residuals so that an attractive recovery yield does not conceal a difficult side stream.
Specify usable quality
Ask what the receiving manufacturer needs: composition, consistency, physical properties and limits on unwanted substances. Distinguish an output that can be produced from one that has been accepted for a defined use. Keep laboratory evidence and evidence at sustained operating scale separate.
Identify the next discriminating test
Frame the next test around a decision: feed acceptance, process compatibility, output quality or residual management. An options review should state the tested material, evidence gaps and conditions under which each route remains a candidate.
Sources & context
- European Commission JRC · Circular economy perspectives in the EU textile sector (2021) ↗
- European Commission JRC · Management options for used and waste textiles (2023) ↗
Background reading checked 9 October 2026. The review questions and structures above are BGF editorial guidance; the references are not BGF project evidence or endorsements. Apply them to the relevant site, data and agreed scope.